Heritage: Marco Rubio can’t ‘pretend’ on immigration

The Heritage Foundation is taking on Sen. Marco Rubio over his reaction to their recent immigration reform study that put the price tag of the overhaul at $6.3 trillion.

The group published a blog post Wednesday, arguing that Rubio cannot “pretend” that an overhaul of the welfare and entitlement systems “will be made easier after we have added millions of new people to a failing entitlement system.”

Rubio v. DeMint on immigration

“I mean, the folks described in that report are my family. My mother and dad didn’t graduate high school. And I would not say that they were a burden on the United States,” Rubio said. “They’re certainly grateful to what the United States provided us in opportunities but my parents were a lot better off 25 years after they immigrated here than they were when they first got here, and their children certainly have been.”

The report set off a fierce debate in conservative circles, particularly among Republicans who are pushing for a comprehensive package. Rep. Paul Ryan, for example, criticized the report for not factoring in economic growth.

The clash between Rubio and Heritage is one of the highest-profile examples of the split in conservative circles over immigration.

Rubio said he had more belief in the future of the country than the Heritage Foundation employees who prepared the report.

“Every other group that’s looking at this … have reached different conclusions. And with all due respect to Heritage, who I work with very closely on a number of issues, on this one issue, this one report, with this one gentleman who prepared it, they are the only group that’s looked at this issue and reached the conclusion that they’ve reached,” Rubio said.

The Heritage Foundation said that the Rubio family’s history helps make the point of their study and that they immigrated before many government programs were implemented.

“Over the following four and a half decades, our government has added layer upon layer of government involvement in our lives, creating a dependency that undermines self-respect and self-reliance,” the group wrote on its website. “That dependency has been devastating to our society; it has shattered communities, families, and individuals. It is now threatening the American Dream. This is true for all—native and immigrant alike, lawful or unlawful. We do not blame immigrants for being entrapped by that system; we blame the people who created that system. We especially blame people who now seek to expand it.”